Visitor Center Hours: 10 am-5pm daily. Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day.
Visitor Center Fee: Free. Parking costs $8.00 per vehicle, $7.00 if Seniors are present.
Front Desk: 530-582-7892
Though the park is named for the Donner Party, it is dedicated to all the hearty souls who took part in the Westward Migration movement of the late 19th century. The park features the new Visitor Center which explore the theme, "Crossing Barriers:Changing Lives". Open year round, the exhibits showcase the cultural history of this area, as well as the Monument to the hearty pioneers of the Westward Migration.
A gentle, self-guided nature trail starts near the museum and makes a loop through the forest. Printed trail guides are available at the museum and entrance station. An easy, one-mile lakeside interpretive trail starts in the lagoon portion of the day-use area and continues along the lake.
The Pioneer Monument, located near the museum, was erected in honor of all who made the difficult trek across the western plains and mountains to reach California during the 1840s. Work on the monument began at Donner Lake in 1901, when the Native Sons of the Golden West purchased the site and constructed the stone base on which the bronze statue stands today. The monument was completed and officially dedicated June 6, 1918, on the site of the Breen Cabin, one of the structures used by members of the Donner Party during the winter of 1846-1847. About 200 yards south of the museum is the site of the Murphy Cabin, where 16 members of the Murphy, Foster and Eddy families spent the winter of 1847-47. Built in November of 1846, the cabin was approximately 25 feet long and 18 feet wide, and was cold and damp, with an earthen floor. A large rock formed the west end of the cabin.